Now fast forward to 2015. The program which produced the last three Birmingham News Metro Player of the Year award winners is currently 12-17. The Dragons have lost three times this month by more than 20 points.

“Things go in waves,” Howard said. “Everything happens in waves. We are going to restock in time. We’re young this year. Wenonah had a great nucleus of guys the last three or four years. Now we are rebuilding.”

The Dragons started this season with a 6-1 record, but have now lost 16 of their last 22 games.

“We’ve got a good freshman group and a good junior varsity group,” Howard said. “We are going to make it good. We are going to turn it back around.”

Howard said the team worked through some internal problems with team chemistry. A lack of senior leadership hurt. The expected starter at point guard was lost for the year with a torn meniscus. The team’s top shooter had to play the point. He’s not the only player that’s not in his natural spot on the floor.

“We still want to compete,” Howard said. “Just continue to compete with great effort no matter how the chips fall. We will still compete no matter who is in those uniforms. We are still Wenonah. We are taking a lot of the beatings that the Dragons issued out over the years. There’s a lot of teams that want to get back at Wenonah. I tell them that’s the price of wearing that Wenonah jersey. There’s a lot of tradition and respect that comes with putting on that jersey. Those are the things we are trying to get the guys to understand.”

This year’s team is built on intensity on the defensive end.

“We’re very young,” Howard said. “As our defense goes, that’s how our team goes. Our point guard is a ninth grader, but that’s still no excuse. The one thing that stays constant is our defensive effort. If we miss shots, then we are still going to play defense.”